InstantnewsBellaire.com

Four streets in Bellaire will receive street and drainage improvements after the City Council on Monday voted to approve them as targets for the next phase of Rebuild Bellaire, the city’s drainage improvement project.

The streets that will undergo improvements are Englewood from Pine to Maple Streets, Holt Street from Loop 610 to South Rice Avenue, Second Street from Jessamine Street to Braeburn Drive, and Oleander Street from Newcastle Drive to Avenue B. Click the lines on the map below for more information about the improvements.

View Four New Streets Targeted For Construction in a larger map

The rough cost will be $5 million, which includes installation of a new storm sewer system, and widening the streets to 28 feet across with curbs and sidewalks. Voter-approved bonds from the Rebuild Bellaire Bond Package will fund the work.

“The next step is to take an engineering proposal to Council,” said Public Works Director Joe Keene. “If Council approves the engineering proposal, it will then take 9 to 12 months to design and formally bid out the project.”

After the council approved all bids, construction would begin on a tight schedule, with engineers working on multiple streets at once to aim for completion within one year.

“What we’re doing is we’re trying to be much more efficient on the construction side of the project,” said James Andrews, an engineer with HDR|Claunch and Miller. “Get in and get out is the philosophy.”

Miller said the firm has targeted streets for the Rebuild Bellaire program after a comprehensive study of all city streets. The study noted streets’ propensity for flooding, pavement conditions, traffic flow, drainage systems and more.

“We gave each street a ranking of 1 to 5 for each category and weighted the categories by importance,” Andrews said. The firm prioritized streets based on where drainage improvements would make the most difference in the city.

The first phase of Rebuild Bellaire included Fifth Street from Palmetto to Spruce Streets, Chestnut Street from Fifth Street to Sout Rice Avenue, Elm Street from Avenue B to Newcastle Drive, Beech Street from Avenue B to Newcastle Drive, Evergreen Street from Renwick Drive to Alder Drive and Evergreen Street from Avenue B to Newcastle Drive. Construction cost for Phase One totaled $4.9 million.

Andrews said all work is complete now, and his firm is preparing the final paperwork to present to the city council to close the project.

“I’m very happy to tell you we’re $5,000 $500,000 under budget for Phase One,” he said. (UPDATE: On Oct. 8 this quote was corrected to reflect the correct amount that Mr. Gerber stated. InstantnewsBellaire.com regrets the error).

Phase Two of Rebuild Bellaire includes Second Street from Elm to Chestnut Streets, Park Court from Avenue B to Newcastle Drive, Avenue B from Fournace to Glenmont, Sunburst from Avenue B to Newcastle Drive and Whipple Drive from South Rice Avenue to South Rice Avenue. Construction cost for Phase two was $4 million.